Page 14 of When He Saved Me
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. In the grand scheme of things, I had bigger things to worry about.”
Oh.Why did that sting?
The silence stretched on again, filling every inch of the space around us. Jamie broke it first this time.
“Can I ask you a question?”
I glanced over at him but couldn’t get a read on him. “Um, yeah. I guess.”
“Why is it a no?”
I rolled my eyes. “Really, dude? Can’t take the rejection?”
He chuckled. “Nah. I can take it, but I mean, what is it about me that is so offensive to you? Is it really because you think I’m just some entitled, rich asshole? You’ve thrown up walls from the moment I walked into that shop, even though I know you check me out when you think I’m not looking.”
“Pfft. I do not.”
“Seriously, what is it?”
We rolled to a stop at the curb in front of my building, and he put the car in Park. We turned to each other, and I looked—really looked—at him. I wanted to pull his hair tie free and run my fingers through the strands of his dirty-blond hair. What would it be like to tangle my fingers in those strands as I fucked his face?
The truth was, I wanted him. On some level, I’d wanted him from the moment I’d met him.
And that was why I put up walls.
“Listen, I don’t do relationships. With anyone.”
“Why?”
“It doesn’t matter why. I just don’t. It’s not personal.”
He considered for a moment, then reached out and brushed his hand along my cheek, sliding all the way to the back of my neck and giving a gentle squeeze before releasing me and returning his hand to his lap. It was oddly intimate and left me both unsettled and simultaneously wanting more. More of his touch. More of his warmth. More of him.
“Okay,” he said.
My eyebrows creased in confusion. “Okay? That’s it?”
“Someone hurt you. Maybe more than one someone. I hate that you feel you need to protect yourself from me, but I won’t push.”
My heart squeezed and my breath stuttered. I’d revealed nothing, yet he’d unlocked some piece of me without my permission. It wasn’t quite what he was thinking, but he was still too damn close to the truth.
My palms were sweaty as I reached for the door handle.
“Look, I don’t know what it is that you think you’ve figured out, but I do appreciate the ride, so thanks for that.” I hastily got out of the car, feeling all sorts of panicky, but as I turned to shut the car door, he called my name. I leaned down to peer into the car.
“Yeah?”
“See you tomorrow,” he said with a wide grin.
Our eyes locked, green versus blue, and then I shook my head, closed his door, and headed inside.
* * *
I didn’t seeJamie the next day or the one after that.
On Thursday, I had to call in to work to deal with my car. Eleven hundred dollars later, I had four brand-new tires and was approaching the maximum limit on my credit card. As it was, Carmen had loaned me half, which I absolutely hated, but I hadn’t really had a choice.
Friday, I’d been scheduled to work in the morning, but I’d picked up the afternoon shift as well, hoping to start setting aside money to go toward what I knew would be a crippling credit card bill later in the month. Against my will, I’d found myself looking at the door every time the bell jangled, but Jamie hadn’t come in. I’d arrived home in such a foul mood that Carmen had packed her stuff and declared she was heading to her parents early for the holiday. They were leaving for California on Sunday, but I guessed she figured she’d rather stay a few days at her childhood home beforehand than put up with my broody ass all weekend. I couldn’t really blame her.
